The Way Love Is
by DawnsxLullaby
Summary: Well, I finished this story in a few days. Summary's inside. Warning: Ending is kinda lame since I ran out of ideas. But I must say that the rest of the story is great : How do I know? I get good reviews!
1. Confession

The Way Love Is

Summary: A ShikaTema love story. Jealousy and denial. Love and hatred. What if she loved him but he didn't love her back? Maybe faith will be there to guide them. That's the way love is.

Hey, guys! Okay, to make it clear…Temari is the one speaking here. Not Shikamaru or anyone else! Just Temari. The bold sentences/phrases are Temari's thoughts. Thanks!

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I stared hard at Ino's note. It said:

_Temari, guess what? Shikamaru and I are officially boyfriend-girlfriend! Isn't that great. We're having a date next week in the greatest sushi bar ever, . Wanna tag along? But then you'd have to bring a date. Anyway, call me! I'm just the luckiest girl on earth! Uh-oh…running out of ink!! See ya. XOXO .. Ino _

I crumpled the piece of blue paper. Am I…mad? I can't understand this feeling. Ino and I have been best friends for six years. Then why do I feel like I want to crush her. I feel hatred.

**Snap out of it, Temari!! Ino's your friend. Stop feeling this feeling!!**

I can't snap out of it. I can't possibly…love Shikamaru, can't I? I see him as a friend. I really do. But maybe I'm falling for him. Just at the wrong time.

I guess I should cancel. How can I stand four hours of Ino and Shikamaru flirting with each other? Even if I love California Maki or Spicy Salmon Rolls, seeing them together is too painful. I need to cancel. I got the phone in the kitchen and dialed Ino's home phone number. It rang three times. Then three more times. Then, Ino finally picked it up.

"I will crush you to death, whoever you are! You disturbed me! Who are you, freak?!" Ino was screaming.

"Ino, it's me…Temari. Look, if this isn't a good time…" I trailed off.

"No! No! This is the best time in the world!" she exclaimed, "What's up, girl?"

"Well, I gotta cancel next week. You know, on your big date,"

"Why?!"

"Well," I said, trying to think of a good excuse, "I…I…I have a doctor's appointment that day."

"Good!"

"Huh?"

"I also have a spa treatment that came late so I'm having it that day. Shika moved it to tomorrow," she said quickly, "Now, you can come!"

"Uh…but I don't have a date..."

"That's fine. Just go. Or I will cry," she said in her small you-gotta-go-or-I'll-kill-you voice.

**Well…I don't wanna get on Ino's bad side. I guess I'll find someone else one day...who would love me. And not Ino.**

"Ino, okay, I'll go," I finally said, "Bye…"

"Buh-bye, girl!"

I hung up and sat on the couch and grabbed the picture of me, Ino, Naruto, Sakura and Shikamaru. I looked at Shikamaru's face for a long time. That's it. I'm officially in love with Shikamaru. No doubt about it.

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Chapter 2. Dresses is coming soon. Really soon. I'm just gonna rest my fingers and think of more ideas.

Help?


	2. Dresses

The Way Love Is

Hey, guys! FYI, my nickname is Dawn. Well, pen name. But who cares? Anyway, I got this done in an hour… My fingers are so tired but I managed.

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Great. Just great. How am I going to do this? Hmm...I should look into my closet and find something good to wear. I ran upstairs, still holding the picture in my left hand. I clutched it very hard.

As I opened my closet, I saw that my closet was the biggest mess in this whole universe. Nothing seemed in style anymore. Or seemed to fit me. I picked out all clothes and divided it into two parts. The first was what I could wear and what I couldn't wear anymore since it was so, so, so yesterday or is too small.

- - - _12 Minutes Later _- - -

This is wrong. This is just plain wrong. I can't wear anything now. My gold summer dress is so short now. My favorite aquamarine cocktail dresses are too flashy. A lot are wearing my favorite lavender skirt (including Ino) and I do not want to look like

I have no uniqueness since the other thirteen girls beside me are wearing the same skirt.

**This is not good. The date is in three days. Plus, Kankuro got my credit card and my Angelo Membership Card expired three week ago…Hinata…**

That's it! Hinata has a huge stash of great cocktail dresses. This is great! I grabbed my mobile and dialed Hinata's phone.

"Hello?" Hinata said.

"Hinata, it's Temari. Could you lend me that nice black dress you lent me last month. You know, the one with the ruffles," I choked.

"Oh, the one until your knees?"

"That's the one."

"Alright. Why don't you come here. You're just beside my house," she chuckled.

I looked out the window and saw Hinata. She waved at me. I just smiled. She hung up and I went down to her house.

- - -_ Successful minutes later… _- - -

"Thanks, Hinata!" I said as I made my way out. I was carrying the black dress and went down home. As I put it in my closet and left my two piles of clothes on the floor, my phone vibrated. It was Hinata. She gave me a text message:

Temari, the dress is dry-clean only!! Yes I expect you to get it dry-cleaned before you return my dress LOL

Dang. Oh, well. She is going to help me score points with Shikamaru. –gasp- Snap out of it, Temari! Ino is your best friend. You can't steal her first boy friend away…can't you?

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Okay, now my favorite chapter is coming. Almost done. Sneak a peek? Well, it includes an online dating service.


	3. Failure

The Way Love Is

Okay, I got a good review again on Chapter 2 (Thanks a lot Lives-In-2D!!). I will mention the dating service in this chapter but the chapter with the most detail is the next one which I am making. It might be finished in an hour or 45 minutes.

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- - - _Yuuki's Golden Sushi_ - - -

I arrived at the place. It had a big sign by the entrance. It said in big red letters: RRESERVED FOR MS. INO YAMANAKA. It's usual for Ino to do something like this. I won't be surprised if she reserves the whole INN just for our monthly "girl bonding sleepovers".

The owner, Yuuki Takutsayaki (NFA: I have no idea what Takutsayaki means –Dawn) met me at the door.

"Ms. Temari? Is that you?" Yuuki asked.

"Yep. It's me," I said.

"Wow…you look…er, different," she said, dazzled.

I wasn't surprised. For one of the first times in my entire life, my hair was down. I was wearing the best dress ever. Plus, I was wearing LiPSTiCK. LiPSTiCK is the hippest brand of lipstick and I never wear make-up.

Yuuki let me in and I saw Shikamaru inside. I sat down in front of him and saw that Ino wasn't there beside him.

"You're beautiful tonight, Temari," Shikamaru laughed.

"Haha. Laugh all you want," I scoffed, "Where the heck is Ino?"

"In the bathroom," he said.

We made small talk. We talked about the big game last night (I didn't watch it but Gaara and Kankuro did and they couldn't keep their mouth shut), the weather and a few more things we don't really care about. Ino came back and she looked…fabulous. It made my dress look pathetic. She was wearing a gold dress from Angelo. The newest one yet. The one that costs about A LOT of yen. We ordered a plate of California Maki, three bowls of miso soup and a few egg rolls.

Shikamaru and Ino kept giggling and flirting with each other. I can't take this torture anymore. I need to find someone else. Fast. This is a complete failure…

"Um, Ino…Shikamaru, I gotta go. Sorry. I'll send you a card," I quickly said and ran away.

"What was her problem?" I heard Ino say.

Shikamaru just shrugged. My heels were killing my feet. My house is at the top of the hill a few miles away. But I don't care. I took my heels outta my feet and ran. Ran so fast. My feet were aching. The worst thing that could have happened has happened. It began to rain.

I sweared under my breath and ran faster. Oh-no…the dress. Oh-no…Hinata is going to hate me. That's the least of my problems. How will I find a guy? I don't like any one here in the village. Neji is too quiet. Choji…obviously NO WAY. Naruto is Hinata's guy already and he's such a prankster so he isn't my type. Sasuke is cool but hey, he's younger then me and he's off avenging his family's death. It's like Shikamaru is the only one.

**C'mon, Temari…how will I meet some new guys?**

Then, an idea struck me…a dating service.

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Like Chapter 3? Well, Chapter 4 (Love is Just a Click Away) is coming up. Hope you'll love it. Please review from a scale of 1-10 and please explain why. Thanks, dudes!

-Dawn


	4. SickOfHer

The Way Love Is

Okay, guys…this is what you've all been waiting for…THE KONOHA ONLINE DATING SERVICE!! Woo-hoo! Sorry if chapters are short. It seemed longer when I wrote the story  But this chapter is looooong.

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After the whole incident last night, I couldn't show my face. I just couldn't. It was obvious that the reason I gave Ino was a complete lie and I bet she already knows it was a big lie. How do I know? She called me 6 times and text messaged me 23 times. I don't answer her calls or read her text messages. I even closed the window curtains since Hinata saw me walk inside with her tattered black dress. It isn't even black anymore. It turned into a light grey.

I laid down on my bed and got my MacBook and typed in The Konoha Online Dating Service. A lot of people go there. It's where lonely people meet lonelier people. So that must mean a lot of guys are single. But I gotta be careful. This online thing can be a way of setting up people. When Sakura went there when Sasuke left, a ninja attacked her. Luckily, Tsunade did something about that. She got the service to "spy" on the users. Let's just hope Tsunade isn't one of those "spies".

Drat. I had to sign in. I filled out a form and finally logged in. My username was Heartbroken. Surely it was not obvious it was me. I mean, they don't really expect a ninja like me to be in part of this kind of thing.

I found a room that was perfect for me. It was called "Loves but Doesn't Love Back" and there were two people there. You see, before you enter a room, you type in a big box why you're in the site in the first place. If you have a match, you guys chat and stuff. I was about to type in the box until something popped out:

_Tsunade: Temari? Is that you?!_

**Oh…no…This is impossible!!**

_Heartbroken: Wow, you use cameras huh?_

_Tsunade: Of course we do. After what happened to Sakura, I couldn't risk another event like that. _

_Heartbroken: Ahh…any other villager come here. Well, someone I know LOL_

_Tsunade: Choji comes here regularly. Beware of LovesBBQ._

_Heartbroken: Ahhh…so how is he? Get any matches?_

_Tsunade: Well, there were five women._

_Heartbroken: Impressive_

_Tsunade: …That felt they could "help" him._

_Heartbroken: Ahhhh…_

_Tsunade: Explain to me why you're here, Temari._

_Heartbroken: …I can't, Lady Tsunade._

_Tsunade: Tell me or I will make you a Genin again. I'm serious._

_Heartbroken: Alright…I like someone but he's already with someone else. I figured I could maybe find someone better who can replace him._

_Tsunade: I see. That's all I need to know. No need to tell me who "he" is. Happy "dating"!_

Then the window popped. The chat room was empty now. I guess going to the "Newbie Lounge" would help. I clicked it and someone was there. Username was SickOfHer. I clicked on SickOfHer's username and a chat box popped up.

_Heartbroken: Uhh…hi._

_SickOfHer: Yo. Ugh, this is such a drag._

**This guy reminds me of Shikamaru. Maybe I should find someone else.**

I paused for a moment. Should I talk to him?

_SickOfHer: Are you still there. I told myself this was a bad idea…_

_Heartbroken: Oh, no! I'm still here. It's just that…_

_SickOfHer: It's just that what?_

_Heartbroken: Well, you remind me of the person I love but he doesn't love me back. Anyway, he has a girl friend already anyway._

_SickOfHer: I guess I can relate to this guy. I have this girl friend but I'm kind of sick of her. She flirts with other guys. I can't stand it!_

_Heartbroken: Oh…are you planning to…break up with her?_

_SickOfHer: Well, I already did._

_Heartbroken: How did she take it??_

_SickOfHer: She didn't even cry! She easily got a replacement and she seems…happier. We're still friends of course but I'm still…uncomfortable about it._

_Heartbroken: Ahhh…wait a sec…I got a text message from my best friend…_

I got a text message from Ino. Well, I will face her some day anyway. The text message said:

_OMG!! Guess what…Shikamaru dumped me *crying face*. But…Kiba and I are together now. And there ain't nothing that will stop us. Shika and I are still pals of course. But he seems like a fish out of water with me around. Well, he's all yours now._

Is it me or is it a big fiasco? SickOfHer can't be…Shikamaru.

_Heartbroken: Look, I gotta run and I guess I will never ever be on this website ever again._

_SickOfHer: Me too. Hey, let's meet up at the Konoha Central Park by the cherry blossoms. Tomorrow at 3 PM when there aren't a lot of people…_

_Heartbroken:…Alright ___

Well, I have a date with Mr. SickOfHer. Maybe I'll bring a few kunais just incase.

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Guys, well good news is that I finished this chapter. Bad news…I'm ending this fanfic in Chapter 5. Finally. Thank you for sticking with this. Well, I have a new fanfic coming up. Release date unknown :))


	5. Happily Ever After

The Way Love Is

Hope you enjoy. Okay, this is the final chapter to the story. Yehey!!

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It was already 7:32 PM. It's been 5 hours since I talked to SickOfHer. Maybe meeting him would be a bad idea. I don't even know his name. But still, what if it's Shikamaru? I mean, SickOfHer dumped his girlfriend and Shikamaru broke up with Ino. SickOfHer said that his ex-girlfriend found a quick replacement and Ino is with Kiba now. It can't be Shikamaru. Why would he be in a dating service? It's not like Ino was the only one who liked him.

Maybe I can cheat. I can't take this anymore. I need to know who SickOfHer is. Tsunade must know. I need her to tell me who he is. I was still logged in so I just clicked the "Leaders" part and then "Tsunade" then "Chat". She was of course online.

_Heartbroken: Tsunade…I want to know who SickOfHer is._

_Tsunade: Dear, you're like a daughter to me along with Sakura but…I can't tell you. _

_Heartbroken: Why not?_

_Tsunade: I may know who SickOfHer is and I think you guys are meant to be but I just can't tell you. That's the way love is._

_Heartbroken: Fine. I guess I'll just meet him then. _

_Tsunade: Good. And if ever things go wrong, I'll just be behind a bush ___

_Heartbroken: Lady Tsunade!! No!! You can't spy on us!!_

_Tsunade: I was just kidding. Have fun, kiddo._

_z_

Well that went well. I guess I'll just have to meet up with him. Maybe SickOfHer isn't Shikamaru. Maybe he's better. I hope so. I guess I should sleep it off. Even though I usually sleep at 11:30 PM, I guess I just feel…tired. I shut down the MacBook and easily slept with SickOfHer filling my mind.

- - -_ The Next Day, 2:14 PM _- - -

I was already in the park. I decided to go early. I was wearing a green hoodie and a pair of brown leggings. It's unusual for me to be wearing anything besides my training outfit but this is a special occasion. I guess I should walk around.

- - - _3:13 PM_ - - -

Man, I'm running now. I'm so late. I was running and running. I fell down on my knees.

"Ow…ahh…I think my knees are bleeding…," My knees were painful.

"Hold on to me," a hand reached out. The voice was so familiar. It's Shikamaru.

I held onto his hand, "Shikamaru?"

"Yes?"

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"I'm off to meet someone here."

"I am too," I replied.

"Well, do you know any Heartbroken?"

"Well, do you know any SickOfHer?" I smiled.

"Well...that's a shocker," he chuckled, "Why the heck is Temari of the Wind in a dating service?"

"Well…you already know…"

He didn't reply. He was gazing at my eyes. He leaned forward and so did I. Our lips met. His lips were so soft. Man, this moment is one of those moments when you just wanted to wear lip balm. His warm tongue was there. I think this kiss would last forever.

"Eh-hem…" the voice came from behind the tree, "I guess that's enough."

The both of us blushed so hard when we saw who it was. It was Tsunade. Man, I wanna kick her butt! She promised she wouldn't spy on us. I should have never trusted an over protective Hokage.

Tsunade started to laugh. I guess laughing with her with squeeze me out of this.

"Ahh…I guess being part of the Dating Service Spies is good. Seeing you two blush tomato red is something I'll never forget," Temari uttered these words while laughing then she ran off.

These past few days were topsy-turvy. I guess I learned a lot of things. Lemme list them for you:

1. There will never be a day that Ino will not stop talking about herself.

2. I need to return that grey (which was black before) dress before Hinata further more hates me.

3. You can never trust an over protective Hokage so when YOU go on a dating service and she says she won't spy on you, NEVER let your guard down.

4. Must wear lip balm before you meet a guy. You never know when he'll _bust a move._

THE END: ((

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Hehe. I had to rewrite this ending because it was lame. Hopefully this is better. I want to credit my best friend, Andy, for helping me write the ending. Sadly, she doesn't have an account here. Well, why don't you read My Cinderella Story? It's great…and my third fic 


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